All posts tagged ‘Bane’

Note: This review contains no spoilers for The Dark Knight Rises beyond what’s easily gathered from the trailers, but it contains spoilers for the first two films in the trilogy. You have been warned.

1. Will I like it?

If you liked Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, yes. It’s a very good movie, and one of the best superhero films ever, but it is at the same time probably the least fun superhero film ever. It’s not just dark but tragic in the classical sense, turning both Batman and Bruce Wayne — both separately and together — into objects of pity as Bane and his cohorts break him/them down bit by bit financially, physically, and finally emotionally. Classic tragedies like the Oedipus Cycle or Hamlet or King Lear can be mesmerizing and fulfilling to read or watch, but few would consider them fun. The Dark Knight Rises is like that: You keep wanting to see more, but it takes more emotional investment than anyone would expect for a summer film.

2. Will my kids be able to handle it?

If they could handle the first two films in the trilogy, then yes. If you’re not sure, show them the first two on video first — this film won’t make any sense without at least having seen Batman Begins, anyway. The Dark Knight Rises is rated PG-13, which in this case means it has lots of violence, lots of people dying, some sexuality, but very little blood (and no gore) and very little swearing. I won’t be taking my 11-year-old or 9-year-old to see it, and I doubt I’ll let them see it on video before they’re 13, but of course you know your kids best.

3. Is it a satisfying end to the trilogy?

I have to say that yes, it is, though in many ways it’s really a sequel to Batman Begins much more than it is to The Dark Knight. The Harvey Dent story from the latter is mentioned often, and the death of Rachel Dawes figures into it, but unless I missed it the word “Joker” is never spoken in the film. The events of the first film are much more important, with the Ra’s al Ghul / League of Shadows storyline coming back around. Heck, Jonathan Crane even makes an appearance (Cillian Murphy’s name is right there in the credits, so I don’t see this as a spoiler).

All that being said, it is certainly the case that the end of the movie does wrap things up effectively, while still giving an indication that things in the universe of the movie will continue. I can’t say more than that without spoiling the ending, which I would not dream of doing.

4. Is Bane really as hard to understand as he seems in the trailers?

Only sometimes, thankfully, but still too often. I found myself expending more mental energy trying to deduce what he was meant to have said in quite a few cases than really ought to have been necessary — I almost found myself wishing (director) Christopher Nolan had thought to provide subtitles. I wonder if the idea for making Bane as close to incomprehensible as he is came from the same place as did the idea to have Christian Bale disguise his voice when in the Batsuit by feigning laryngitis.

5. How does Anne Hathaway do as Catwoman?

Surprisingly, at least to me, really well! She plays the role very much as it’s usually been written in the comics — smart, quick, playful, a brilliant thief but without any real desire to hurt anyone who doesn’t try to hurt her first. I found myself wondering if the insane Catwoman memorably portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992′s Batman Returns might not fit better into Nolan’s version of the Batman stories, but Hathaway’s version will certainly satisfy fans of the comic books.

6. In the trailers, Bruce Wayne says he’s retired as Batman. How much do we actually see Batman in the movie?

Less than you’d probably expect for such an iconic superhero. I didn’t time it or anything, but I’d bet that Bruce Wayne gets more screen time than Batman does, which may be a first for any superhero film. Have no fear, though: the Batsuit and awesome Bat-vehicles figure prominently. And several of the scenes where he’s without the suit are the best-acted scenes in the whole film — in particular, there’s a scene between Bruce Wayne and Alfred that I swear could be used as material for an acting class, so amazingly do Christian Bale and Michael Caine play it.

7. So, when’s a good time for a bathroom break?

The movie clocks in at a whopping 2 hours, 45 minutes, so this will likely be a concern for many adults as much as for kids. There are no great times to go, but I would say that at the start of the lead-up to Bane kicking off his big plan for Gotham City (I can’t say more without spoiling it, but you’ll know when it’s happening) would be the best time, as it goes on for a few minutes — but be quick, because you don’t want to miss what happens when the plan gets kicked off.

8. Were there any good previews?

It was nice to see the trailer for Oz the Great and Powerful on the big screen. And, despite there being nothing wrong with the 1990 Schwarzenegger version, I have to say the new Colin Farrell remake of Total Recall looks excellent. There was also one for The Watch, which looks worse every time I see a new trailer for it. There were a couple more, but those were the most memorable.

9. Is it worth paying more for IMAX?

I didn’t see it in IMAX, but now that I’ve seen it on a regular screen, and knowing that Nolan shot some of the film on IMAX cameras, I really want to. So much of the movie is visually arresting that I have to think it will be improved by IMAX.

And how seriously awesome is it that the movie isn’t even available in 3D? Thanks, Christopher Nolan!

10. Do I have to stay through the end credits for a bonus scene at the end?

No. The music’s good, so you might want to stay through the end credits anyway, but there is no more actual content once the letters start appearing.

Note: In closing, I’d like to say that the hearts of all of us at GeekDad go out to the victims of the senseless, horrific shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and their families.

The kids (and I include the husband in this) had a great time playing with the Tumbler going under things, down hallways, all over the family room and using it to chase the cats around. (The last didn’t last long as the cats figured out they were safe on the couch.) However, my favorite part of the Tumbler was the easy-opening packaging.

It’s usually an ordeal to open something like this. There’s the tape and the twist-ties and sometimes hard plastic to cut through before the toy can be removed from the packaging. The Tumbler had none of that. It was packaged with small discs that held the car and remote in place. All I had to do was twist the discs to get the items out.

It’s the quickest and least nail-breaking toy I’ve ever opened.

Breaking the rest of the toys down:

The Adult Stuff:

I consider the Tumbler all-ages but the quality of the action figures of Batman and the movie cast does differ between adult-targeted figures and those for kids. That adult action figures are more detailed and carefully sculpted. We received the Batman, Catwoman and Bane six inch figures, all of which looked like they had stepped out of the movie.